Tips for Lean Managers Archives | Page 7 of 22

The Three Indispensable Qualities of a Lean Leader

By Jon Miller - March 22nd, 2010

Recently an old friend asked me to recommend a curriculum for certifying the lean leaders within their company to a more advanced level. The basic requirements for leading lean implementation, as with any change effort, are fairly stan

When to Shift from "Why?" to "How?"

By Jon Miller - March 16th, 2010

A recent problem solving team activity made me aware of the importance of knowing when to shift the conversation from “why?” to “how?” To be honest it is sometimes hard to know where to draw the line in the 5 wh

Questions About A3 Problem Solving

By Jon Miller - February 25th, 2010

These days if you stand next to a Toyota building and listen closely you may hear the sound of many sheets of A3 sized paper being slowly turned into problem solving documents. There are a few big, complex problems that will surely res

Five Change Management Errors that Make You Wish You’d Read this Article Sooner

By Jon Miller - January 12th, 2010

As part of the U.S. government spending to boost the economy, our city has been digging up ditches, replacing pipes and putting down sidewalks near my house for the past 6 months or so. The signs and announcements were there for weeks

Are You a Million Method Man?

By Jon Miller - December 23rd, 2009

Are you a million method woman or man? Too many well-intentioned lean implementations are. The million method man has a tool or method to solve any problem they encounter. In the best of situations they are heroes and teachers who brin

How to Use Lean to Achieve Bottom Line Results

By Jon Miller - December 22nd, 2009

In an e-mail, blog reader Heather asked: How else can you use lean to achieve bottom line results besides a growth strategy? The growth strategy for delivering bottom line results through lean goes something this: lean improvements cre

The Positive Tension Between SMART and Stretch Goals

By Jon Miller - December 14th, 2009

While helping a client through their hoshin kanri process last month one of the leaders in the company raised an interesting question about the selection and definition of breakthrough objectives as part of the hoshin plan. Breakthroug

The Path, the Traveler and the Destination

By Jon Miller - December 8th, 2009

The path, the way, the road, the tao, el camino: the course of the traveler has many names. Each evokes a sense of possibility, anticipation and wonder. What lies ahead? What is the destination? What will one find along the way? Robert

The Advantages of A1 Thinking Over A3 Thinking

By Jon Miller - December 2nd, 2009

What is popularly called A3 thinking is the practical problem solving process which summarizes the PDCA cycle on one page. Those of us who have memories of TQC will recognize it as nearly identical to the QC storyline concept. Many QC

Management Improvement Carnival #83

By Jon Miller - November 30th, 2009

We are honored to guest host Management Improvement Carnival #83. John “The Curious Cat” Hunter has collected interesting blog articles in over 80 previous carnivals. If you missed Carnival #82 be sure to visit the choices

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